If you had to choose one, which would you choose?
If you were only known for one of these values, which would you prefer?
If your team could be marked by either authenticity or excellence, which would you rather?
Unless you wrestle through black and white polarizing questions like these ones, you’ll never uncover your true bias.
After all, most leaders would publicly choose both, but when push comes to shove, often lean in one direction or the other. So which direction is that for you?
And that’s the thing. It really is a direction. Authenticity and excellence are not opposites. I’ve been a part of worship services that have been both authentic and excellent—in mega, medium, and micro churches. The same is true for concerts, small groups, staff meetings, service projects, and block parties. All of those gatherings can be simultaneously authentic and excellent, but they often lack one or the other—or both.
So if you had to choose one, which would you choose? Or better yet, if authenticity and excellence were on the opposite ends of a spectrum—even though they’re technically not in opposition to one another—where would you mark yourself?
If you had to choose one, which would you choose?
Let’s explore the implications of both choices for the teams that you’re on and the teams that you lead.
1. Choosing excellence over authenticity
Teams that are led with a bias toward excellence over authenticity are often high pressure. Workaholics thrive on teams like this. Enneagram 3s and 8s would be attracted to these environments. Projects are prioritized over people. Hard growth metrics are more important than emotional health. You are judged solely on your public persona—as long as you keep your private life private.
In other words, teams that value excellence over authenticity will often out-do, out-perform, and out-grow every other team—on the surface.
2. Choosing authenticity over excellence
Teams that are led with a bias toward authenticity over excellence often have a higher level of emotional health and sense of balance. Projects and new initiatives are typically evaluated in light of a longer time frame, rather than a quick win. Newcomers and outsiders are often overlooked, since there’s a greater emphasis on internal health than external growth. Status quo is okay, as long as people are working toward a healthy sense of balance.
In other words, teams that value authenticity over excellence will often run longer, remain healthier, and grow deeper than every other team.
3. Choosing authenticity AND excellence
Now what if you could choose both? While that would be ideal—especially to take the positive attributes of excellent and authentic cultures, and throw away the negative ones—most leaders typically lean one way or the other.
So first things first: determine which side you lean toward and have a natural bias for. Once you figure that out, make sure you have others around you who ooze out the other value. And instead of trying to conform them to your preference or unintentionally punish anyone that exhibits that value, have a conversation around ways you can elevate both values—each in the appropriate time and situation.
If you haven’t sat down and identified the core values for your team, make sure to work through the Values Audit in chapter 7 of my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry. Alternatively, I also have a coaching process where I’ve helped churches identify their core values. Just leave a comment below and I’ll reach out to you with more information.
Ultimately, the question isn’t about authority versus excellence. It’s a matter of how much of both—especially since a lack of authenticity is a nonstarter. It basically disqualifies you before the race even begins.